Changes
by StarrVenus
Summary: Rodrick meets a new girl who is the total opposite of him. While the two butt heads, they start to become more unlike themselves. My summary fails. This will incorporate things from both the books and the movies. Rodrick/OC. Rated T for some alcohol.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So I know I should be working on my other story, but I saw DOAWK 2 last night, and I just wanted to write the book/movie crossover. I think Devon Bostick is SOOOO CUTE! I'm just saying. He's really my favorite part of the movie...**

**But anyways, I know that it's a little cliché, but I'm mostly writing about Rodrick. I liked him in the movie because you could see his sensitive side, so I hope to accomplish a transformation. LOL. I also loved his driving. **

**So I don't own the movies or the books, but I have read and seen them all, and I luff them, and I'm a little old for them.

* * *

**

Chapter 1

Erica POV

I took a deep breath before stepping into Plainview High. My heart was pounding, my hands were shaking, and my stomach was doing a series of gymnastics routines. It was a big school, and I was a new student. I was going to be a Junior, but people were going to think of me as a Senior since I was taking mostly Senior's classes. Yeah, I'm pretty smart.

Finally, I walked to the quad. Cliques dominated. I could see the popular cheerleaders with their jock boyfriends, the goth kids, the nerds, the outcasts, and of course, the rebels. I don't know why, but I had to watch the rebels. They were rocking out to their iPods, and a couple of them were wearing shirts that said,"Löded Diper" on them. I had to hide my snickering underneath my hand. Hopefully none of them saw me.

I looked around for the office, and after scanning the area, I found it.

"Hello, can I help you?" a nice looking lady asked. I looked at her name tag and saw her name was Scarlet Meyers.

"Yeah, I'm a transfer student, and I was supposed to meet with the principal for my schedule and a student helper?" I asked.

She nodded. "You must be Erica Waters. Right this way," she directed while standing up. I followed her through an elaborate maze, and finally reached the principal's office. The secretary knocked on the door, and he answered.

"Hello, come in!" he greeted loudly, ushering me in his tiny little room. I sat down in one of the seats. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I'm Erica Waters-" I began before he interrupted me.

"Ahh, yes! I'm Mr. Denny. How are you? Your dad talked to me on the phone. Very nice man!" he exclaimed. This guy had a small resemblance to Santa Claus – he was a big, jubilant man. Just without the long, white beard, and with a thick pair of glasses.

I smiled. "Yeah, my dad's pretty cool."

My appreciation for my dad had grown over the past couple of years. He and my mom got a divorce when I was five, and my biological mom died just a couple of months ago. That was why we moved. Dad couldn't stand to stay in the same house that the two had started out in, so we moved to start fresh. I'd been living with him for basically my whole life.

"So here's your schedule," he grunted while handing a piece of paper across the desk.

"Thank you," I replied while grabbing it. Hmm. I had math first, and gym right after. Fun.

"So as for your student helper, we usually assign each transfer student with another that has the most similar schedule. The name of your student helper is Rodrick Heffley. Now, unfortunately, Rodrick is a bit of a troublemaker..." he trailed off, looking a little frustrated. "I'm sorry, he was the only one who's taking Beginning Guitar..."

I shook my head. "It's fine. I just need someone who knows the building."

Mr. Denny chuckled. "Oh, Rodrick knows the building alright..."

It was then when I began to get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"I'll go get him from the quad. Hold on for a couple of minutes," Mr. Denny instructed.

I nodded and looked around. His office was cluttered with pictures of his son and wife, paperwork, and several yearbooks from the past, going back as far as the 80's. Wow. Mr. Denny was pretty old.

After I got bored, I looked at my schedule. So math was first, then gym. Next, I had social studies, science, then finally lunch. The final periods were guitar, English, and then Spanish. Not horrible, although I'd prefer to have math after lunch.

"I didn't do anything this time, I swear!" I heard a person say. I looked back, and there was Mr. Denny dragging a guy into his office.

"I know, Rodrick. This visit is on more pleasant circumstances. Please, sit down," Mr. Denny responded firmly.

He rolled his eyes, but sat down next to me. "Who's this chick?"

My eyes flashed. Chick? Excuse me?

"This is Erica Waters, she's a new student. You're going to help her around the building. You two have every class together, so you're going to bring her to every class." Mr. Denny stared at Rodrick. "If she does not get to the right class or if you help her ditch, you are going to be in serious trouble."

I looked away, hoping Rodrick wouldn't kill me for getting him in so much trouble.

He gave Mr. Denny a wide-eyed look. "You want _me_ to help a new student? I barely know _my_ schedule. It's the first day of school."

Mr. Denny shrugged. "Well, then walk it through before classes start. You have ten minutes."

Rodrick looked me over, top to bottom. I gave him a weird look that he ignored. Finally, he took a big breath. "Fine. What's in it for me?"

Mr. Denny put on a bargaining face. "If you can get Erica to her classes safely _and_ kindly, I'll give you free admission to football games."

Rodrick laughed. "I don't even go to football games."

The principal shrugged. "That's all I can offer. You're being required to do this anyways."

Rodrick sighed. "Fine, let's go." I grabbed by bag and followed him out of the office.

"Thanks for helping me," I added. He grunted in response.

I had the feeling that this would be an interesting day.

* * *

**Ok, so where I'm going with this, I really don't know. You can kind of assume what will happen, but I'm going to try include Greg and Rowley in it more. So um yeah. R&R if you want. **

**-Venus**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So um yeah, hello! I'm very bored today, and a little frustrated with my recording system... But ANYWHO, I will spare you the details.**

**I just went on a 3 hour car ride... My friend Ellie was driving. She is halfway there to getting her license, so yeah...**

**So here we go. I guess. :D**

* * *

Chapter 2

Erica POV

"So first we've got to find our math class... Room 2-207. Where exactly is that?" I asked as politely as I could. Let me be honest – I really didn't want to piss this guy off because he was truly my only hope for getting to class on time right now.

Rodrick shrugged. "It's upstairs somewhere."

His carelessness annoyed me. "So we're not even going to look for it?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. We still have five minutes before the five minute bell. No biggie."

I sighed and put my hands on my hips. "So what do I do for the next five minutes?"

He shot me a grin, showing me his pearly whites. "I'm going to introduce you to the band."

I looked at his t-shirt. It had Löded Diper on it too, like the ones I'd seen before. "I'm guessing the band's name is Löded Diper."

He laughed. "You are correct." He put his arm around me and directed me to the group I'd earlier identified as the rebels. "This is Tom, our lead singer and guitarist, Steve, our bassist, and Cody, our guitar and keys." Then, he did a Justin Bieber hair flip. "And I'm Rodrick, the drummer." I tried hard not to snicker. Was this supposed to impress me?

I nodded my head. "Hi," I managed to mumble. These guys were – to be completely honest – dorks. Not like they were outcasts or anything, because it seemed like everyone liked them. But they made me laugh at how cool they thought they were and how they were trying to be cool.

"This, my friends, is Erica. I have to show her around the school," Rodrick announced. Some of the guys laughed at him, and he just glared at them. "Denny made me, ok?"

I rolled my eyes. "Why aren't there any girls here?"

The guy with bleach-blonde hair decided to answer. I think his name was Steve. "Because they're too scared to talk with such awesome people."

I snickered. "Or is it because they just don't like you in that way?"

They all gave me an offended look, but didn't respond. I had the satisfaction that I was right.

* * *

Greg POV

You know how I used to complain about middle school?

Yeah, scratch that. _High school_ is a lot worse.

There were guys that were even bigger than the eighth graders, and these guys probably needed to shave _five_ times a day. I nervously ran my hand along my fuzzy chin. No beard yet, but it was coming. Hopefully. Rodrick's started growing when he was a Sophomore, but I was also a little taller than he was at my age, so hopefully that meant that I grew faster.

As I walked to my locker, I noticed that Holly Hills was a couple of lockers down, and my locker partner was a cute girl.

"So can I visit you every day at your locker, Greg?" Rowley asked a little too loud, if you ask me.

I sighed in annoyance. "It's a public place, you can go wherever you want."

"Nuh-uh," Rowley responded. "You can't go in the staff only parts."

I had to admit – I was a little jealous of Rowley. He'd already hit a growth spurt and was now towering a little above six feet. He was close to surpassing Rodrick. And his voice was getting deeper.

So if Rowley already hit puberty, why didn't I?

Mom said, "Oh, Greggie, you're just a late bloomer is all!" To be honest, I'd really prefer to not be compared with flowers. I don't really want to "bloom".

But she was even worse when she was dropping us off. You know how people are always saying that the middle child is always ignored? Well, let me tell you, I really wish I was. When Mom dropped me off, this is a bit of how it went:

Mom: I can't believe my little Greg is growing up! (Begins to cry.)

Greg: Susan, please, I'm fourteen years old.

Mom: But you're a FRESHMAN! (*Note: This was capitalized because she chose to say this very loud.)

Random Person #1: Freshie!

Random Person #2: Hahahaha he's a Freshman!

Cheerleader: Like, LOL, how embarrassing!

Mom: (Hugs Greg.) I love you, sweetie!

Greg: Mom, let me go!

Mom: (Kisses Greg on the cheek.) If someone bullies you, just wipe your tears and go to the nurse's office! I'll pick you right up.

Everyone: (Burst out into laughter.) Momma's boy!

And I am not exaggerating. Why can't my mom be like Rowley's? She's too busy to drive him to school, so she embarrasses him at home and Mom drives us. At least Rodrick has a parking spot now, so he doesn't even see us. Thank God.

Rowley and I walked to our first class – Physical Science. Normal Freshman are supposed to take Biology, but we decided to take the easy way out and go for Physical Science.

"Where are we gonna sit?" Rowley asked, staring at the empty seats.

"Why is no one here?" I muttered under my breath. Then, I realized that we still had ten minutes until the bell, so of course nobody was here. But then, I figured that we could pick any seat we wanted to, so we wouldn't end up in the front. I pointed to the back, and we took the desks in the far right corner.

Unfortunately, after class started, our teacher told us that we were being placed alphabetically. And I got the "best" seat, front and center. Rowley got the back row.

You know how I said that high school was bad? Scratch that. High school _sucks_.

* * *

***2 weeks later* Ok, that's it. I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been busy. I went to Washington DC for a band trip, so I've been out of my house and making up homework and tests. But I'm alive, ladies and germs!**

**Anywho, I hope you enjoyed. One thing I've regretted to mention is that I overuse commas, so I'm sorry if that annoys anyone. I don't know when the next chapter will be up considering the fact that I haven't written it yet, but I have ideas. Kind of. Ha ha.**

**And one final thing - if you didn't figure it out yet, it's Greg and Rowley's first day of high school. Kthxbai.**

**-Venus**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Currently, I am at the library typing this. It's just SO CLICKY! LOL. Don't you just love a really clicky keyboard? Especially when you can type really fast, like me! :D**

**So yeah. Here we go. **

* * *

Chapter 3

Erica POV

Alright, I'll just come right out and say it. I love math. But I had a really bad feeling about this school year when some of the people in that class forgot what two squared was. Yeah, that's right. I was stuck with the dummies.

Rodrick was annoying me with his laziness. He had his headphones running up his sleeve and an earbud in his ear, concealed by his hand. I had an urge to tell on him, but then I remembered last year when I was known as the tattletale (and just as a side note, I haven't heard that word since I was in Kindergarten), and I really didn't want that to happen again. Plus, I _was_ the new kid. I really had no right to tell anyone what to do.

After that, we both went to the gym. On the first day, they always have a presentation and they give you your locker. Rodrick and I were in a co-ed class together, which was called Cardiovascular Fitness. I didn't really want to take it but it was the only class available when I registered for this school. It was boring, and it was just a reminder to me that I would have to be publicly humiliated once again.

Next was Social Studies, a.k.a. U.S. Constitution. This was a class that you had to take a final exam on at the end of the semester, and you absolutely had to pass it before you graduated. Unfair.

Right after was Physics. I guess Rodrick failed last year, according to him, so he was stuck with the Juniors. I really wasn't looking forward to Physics because to be honest, Science isn't really my thing.

Finally we got to lunch. I was saved from the humiliation of sitting alone by Rodrick, who invited me to sit with his group. Tom, Steve, and Cody all welcomed me with their mouths crammed.

"Guys, if you want to get a girl, then swallow before you talk," I told them.

"How do you know that will get a girl?" Tom asked stupidly, spaghetti half in his mouth.

I raised an eyebrow, but realized that if these guys were anything like Rodrick, this was a very advanced question for one of them to ask. "Well, if you haven't noticed, I'm a girl. I would not want to date a guy who eats like a pig and talks at the same time."

They all responded in a chorus of "Oh"s.

"Do you have any more advice?" Cody asked.

"Hmm..." I thought out loud. I looked them over to see if I could critique them. "First, girls don't find black nail polish on guys appealing. At least the normal ones don't. Second, girls might like a 'bad boy', but you guys are being that way to the point of looking careless. Girls like a guy that could care less about authority, but not people. Thirdly, you all need jobs."

The four gave me offended looks.

"Sorry, you asked for advice..." I mumbled.

Right then, to break the awkward silence, there were two guys who came to our table. One was pretty tall, but was a little immature looking. The other one was scrawny but looked a little like Rodrick.

"Rodrick, can we sit with you?" the scrawny-looking one pleaded.

Rodrick smirked and stroked his chin pensively. "Hmm... Nahh, Bubby, I'd rather not."

I gave him a look and faced the two of them. "Yes, you can sit here."

They both gave me an appreciative looks and the tall one sat down next to me, and "Bubby" sat down right next to Rodrick, who was directly across from me.

"Really, Erica?" Rodrick muttered over to me.

"What's wrong with them sitting with us? You let me sit with you guys," I responded.

"This kid," Rodrick began, pointing at the scrawny kid at his side, "is my Freshman brother, Greg. And this kid," he pointed at the boy next to me, "is his friend, Rowley. They're going to ruin my rep."

"What rep?" Greg mumbled. Rodrick punched him.

I looked over at Rowley, and he gave me googly eyes. "Please stop staring at me," I told him quietly, but he seemed to be in his own little world.

I got to enjoy watching Rodrick and Greg interact and feeling uncomfortable at the same time. Mmm. Wonderful.

After lunch, we had Guitar. Pretty fun sounding, but I had to bring my guitar to and from school, which was a little inconvenient.

English and Spanish were boring too.

Rodrick directed me to my locker. "So, Erica, wanna hang out?"

I raised my eyebrow. "Really? Sure, where?"

He grinned. "My band's doing a gig tonight, and it'd be cool for you to come to our practice. You know, for feedback."

"Cool, where?" I asked.

We worked out all the details, and Rodrick helped me find the doors so I could get on the bus.

"See you tomorrow," he called. I waved before I got on the bus.

Sitting on the bus, I reflected. It definitely was an interesting day, but at least I made friends.

* * *

**So I don't know if it was long or short since I'm not writing this on a Word document, but whatever. So this was kind of a pointless chapter, but I do have an idea for where this is going, just wait for the next chapter. Also, I realize this was a late update. I haven't had very much time to write. But I'm getting excited for the future chapters! I just hope I can keep them friends for a while. **

**Also, on a side note - I totally just realized that the main character has the same name as a Canadian TV series the guy who played Rodrick in the movies (Devon Bostick. *drools*)used to be in called Being Erica. This was not intentional, but it's kinda cool. The only reason why she's named Erica is because Jessica and I (Abby) are both in love with Devon Bostick, and E is the letter in the middle of A and J. So yeah. Anyways, bye.**

**-Venus**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys. I don't really know what to say, other than that this chapter is mostly conversation. I'm sorry! But I am on summer break, so I'm going to be updating more often (hopefully). Enjoy! This is where the story really starts. The first three chapters were really an introduction, I guess. We'll see. (:**

* * *

Chapter 4

Rodrick POV

I was adjusting the drum set while Cody tuned his guitar. Steve was warming up on his bass.

"Where is Tom?" Cody finally complained right as he put his now in-key guitar on a stand, moving over to the keyboard.

"Don't know," I grumbled. Tom had a habit of showing up late, but we only had an hour to practice.

"I'm telling you, dude, we need to kick him out of the band," Steve said right as Erica started walking in.

"Am I too early?" she called out.

I shook my head. "No, you're actually on-time."

"Then where's the guy with the black hair?"

I sighed. Erica was really observant. "He's late."

"Again!" Steve made sure to add.

Cody and I rolled our eyes. "Anyways, we have to wait for him because he's our lead singer."

"Unless..." Cody started. Steve's head flipped along with his hair. They both smiled evilly.

"What?" I asked, clueless. Cody motioned me over and we all put our heads together. "Maybe we can have Erica sing for us!" he whispered excitedly.

I grinned and stood up straight. "Erica! How'd you like to be Löded Diper's new lead singer!"

Her eyes widened.

* * *

Erica POV

Lead singer?

"Umm..." I mumbled.

Rodrick came down off of the stage and put his arm around me. "C'mon, you can do it!"

I shook my head. "I don't know any of your songs. Plus, you're a screamo band, right?"

"Not always!" Steve called out.

"Plus, we can play songs that you already know. What kind of music do you like?" Rodrick asked.

I thought a little bit. "Do you guys like Green Day?"

_One Hour Later..._

"How you guys doing?" shouted Steve. Tom never showed up, so Steve, who normally sang backup, took his place for the heavier stuff. After a couple of songs, I was going to sing a couple of softer songs.

I looked around. Everyone from school was there.

Hmm. These guys must've been pretty popular.

I went to the bathroom right away so I wouldn't be late for my songs. Right as I was washing my hands, the cheerleaders entered the bathroom.

"Oh, look, it's New Girl!" the leader of the pack said. I smiled awkwardly and waved.

"So, I hear that you're singing later tonight!" she said. The rest of the girls whispered and giggled.

I laughed nervously. "Uh, yeah. I'm pretty scared."

They smiled at me. "Well, don't worry. I'm sure that even if you screw up, people will forget about it tomorrow."

Maybe it was just me, but I could hear some coldness in her voice. Her picture-perfect smile wasn't completely fooling. Her blue eyes sparkled under gobs of mascara while her bleach-blonde hair was completely straight. Perfect definition of a prep, complete with a Coach purse and brand-name clothes.

"I'm Heather Hills. And you are?" She began twirling her hair and smacking her gum.

"I'm Erica Waters," I muttered, going back to the mirror.

"Well, see ya on stage. Break a leg!" she called after me.

"Thanks!" I responded quietly. My brown-haired, green-eyed reflection stared back at me.

"And now, we welcome Erica up to the stage!" I heard Rodrick yell. I ran out of the bathroom and joined them on the stage. Wow, that was a lot of people.

"You ready?" Cody asked. I slowly nodded my head. He began strumming the beginning of "Good Riddance" by Green Day. Then, I began to sing.

_"Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road,_  
_Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go._  
_So make the best of this test, and don't ask why_  
_It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time."_

Rodrick was playing the keys while Steve played along on his bass. When I looked back on them, they both smiled.

_"It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right. _  
_I hope you had the time of your life."_

Finally, we finished the song. The audience began cheering.

"They loved it!" Rodrick shouted as he hugged me from the side. I grinned. My "big debut" had gone well!

"Give it up for Erica!" Steve said over the mic as everyone clapped.

After the first song, I felt more comfortable to finish the gig. At the end, the audience all stood up and applauded.

The band and I went backstage to put away the instruments. We all hi-fived.

"So, do you wanna go to the after-party?" Rodrick asked me.

"We have school tomorrow," I reminded him.

He shrugged. "It's the second day. No big deal. You can ditch if you want to."

My eyes widened and I shook my head. "No, I'd rather go to school."

Rodrick smirked. "Such a nerd. So do you need a ride? It's at Steve's house."

"Sure," I replied.

* * *

**So yeah, the next chapter will be at the after-party. So yeah. I know a lot of people make stories where Rodrick and his band aren't cool, but from what I gathered from the movie, they seemed pretty popular. And it's my story. (:**

**I don't think I described the gig very well. And I realize that there's a lot of conversation in this chapter. I'll try to make it up next chapter! **

**And I don't write songfics, just so you know. In time, I might write "mini songfics" within the story. So um, yeah. **

**So R&R! Thanks guys (:**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Ok, so I'm like writing this right after I posted Chapter 4, but I wrote that a couple of days ago. But I really feel like writing. =/**

**So here we go!**

* * *

Chapter 5

Erica POV

I have decided that I will never allow Rodrick Heffley to drive me anywhere.

After the band crammed all of the equipment into the back of his van, they all took their own cars and I sat in the passenger seat in the van.

The ride started with Rodrick playing a Löded Diper CD and turning it up as loud as it could go. I swear, I lost my hearing for hours after the ride. Then, he went sixty miles per hour through the neighborhood. He also kept running over curbs and ignoring stop signs.

"How you ever got your license is beyond me," I muttered.

Rodrick just laughed. "The secret is to not get caught by the cops."

I looked over at him. "Have you ever gotten a ticket?"

He shook his head. "Never. I'm just that good."

"Yeah, whatever."

After listening to the song "Exploded Diaper" five times in a row, we finally made it to Steve's house. There were cars lined up all along the side of the street and streets past that.

"How many people would you estimate are at this party?" I asked.

"Estimate?" He smirked at me. "Maybe fifty."

I sighed. "This is going to go so much past my curfew."

"Curfew? Screw that! We just played a gig!" he shouted while giving a fist-pump in the air.

Mmm. This was going to be an interesting party.

* * *

Greg POV

It was a good night. Mom and Dad were reading in the sunroom while Manny was sleeping. It was ten at night and the TV was completely free. I had no homework.

Just as I was about to play a video game, Mom came in and took the TV.

"I have to check the news, Gregory! Your brother hasn't come home yet and I need to make sure there isn't a news segment about them finding a dead body!"

"What? Mom, he's probably at a party. Don't freak out," I reassured her, trying to pry the remote out of her hands. "Just call him."

She looked flustered. "Where could he be?"

"He said there was going to be a party at Steve's house..." I trailed off, breaking the promise I made with Rodrick that I wouldn't tell Mom where he was.

Her head whipped around to look at me. "Where's Steve's house?"

* * *

Rodrick POV

"C'mon, Erica! Have a beer!" one of the guys shouted while holding a full bottle in front of her face.

"No thank you," she mumbled, sipping on her Sprite.

I took a swig of my own beer. I was on my third bottle already, which was crazy because it wasn't even the weekend yet. I was beginning to feel intoxicated.

Erica finally grabbed my arm and dragged me into the bathroom when she'd had enough.

"Why are we in the bathroom?" I asked, my words beginning to slur.

"I want to go home, and you're my only ride," she hissed.

"Call your mom or something," I suggested.

She shook her head. "I can't call my mom. She's dead. And my dad's at work. I need a ride."

"Fine but can you drive my car? I'm feeling dizzy."

Erica rolled her eyes. "I don't even know why I'm trying to reason with you. You're underage! Why are you drinking?"

When I didn't answer, she pushed me out of the bathroom. We were halfway to the door when a person I totally didn't want to see showed up.

"Rodrick Heffley! Is that beer in your hand?" she screeched.

Uh-oh.

"And all of you kids! Stop drinking! You two in the corner - save that stuff for marriage! Are you boys smoking?" She began to scold everyone in the house. "I'm calling the cops if you children don't leave!"

Some people shrugged and left because they were already drunk, others were forced out by Mom. After she cleared the house, she left a note for Steve's parents and took both of us by the arms.

"Who's this girl, young man?" she demanded.

"Erica. She's my friend from school," I grunted.

"Are you drunk or high, Erica?"

Erica shook her head and lifted her Sprite up for Mom to see. "Pop."

Mom gave a relieved smile. "I approve of your lady-friend, Rodrick." I rolled my eyes.

Mom drove Erica to her apartment before taking me home. Later that night, Dad and Mom gave me a long lecture on how alcohol is bad for a minor and how I was going to be grounded for a month and I couldn't practice with the band or play anymore gigs. I just tuned them out and eventually fell asleep while they were in the middle of a rant.

The next day, I had the worst hangover.

* * *

**So there you go. Chapter 5. I tried to reduce the dialogue. I hope you enjoyed it. **

**Just so you know, I've never gotten drunk. The only alcohol I've ever had was wine, and that was not even a sip. It tasted gross. Icky. **

**I'll probably take a little more time to update after this because I have to plan out everything that's gonna happen next. I'm also looking for a conflict for Greg, so if anyone has a suggestion, I'm listening. (I won't steal it, either - I will recognize you if you're willing to share an idea.)**

**So R&R, and be patient! (:**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This chapter is gonna take a while... I'm just beginning to write it. I can honestly say that I have no idea what's going to happen yet.**

***A long time after* Hello! I just wrote this chapter a completely different way, and realized that I'd like for this chapter to be before that one, so I'm writing this story a little out of order. **

* * *

Chapter 6

Erica POV

"Rodrick!" I screamed in his ear as he was trying to sleep on the grass of the quad. I could tell that he was having a hangover - he had dark circles below his bloodshot eyes and he hadn't bothered to brush his hair - or teeth for that matter. Also he still had some "guyliner" on left over from the gig last night. (Which I forgot to mention - how ridiculous is that? I don't even wear eyeliner that much.)

Rodrick continued to sleep until the bell, no matter how many times I yelled into his ear. Cody and Steve were at home, no doubt sleeping off their hangovers. Tom was somewhere, I honestly hadn't seen him since yesterday. So it was just Rodrick and I.

He turned to me and shot me the bird before laying back down.

"You've left me no choice," I muttered before dropping my backpack - which was about fifteen pounds, I'd estimate - on his head. I know, I'm cruel.

"Erica!" he screamed. I grinned, enjoying the sound of his misery. Wait - did that sound too mean? I didn't mean to sound evil or anything. I was just pissed that he dragged me to that stupid party, let alone the fact that he drank beer _while_ being underaged.

The bell rang before any more cursing ensued. Rodrick grumbled before getting up and walking with me to math.

* * *

Greg POV

"Hey Greg!" Rowley whispered from across the classroom.

I stood up and walked towards him. "You don't have to whisper, Rowley. Class hasn't even started."

He decided to ignore me. "Mom got me a new babysitter!"

Although it didn't surprise me that his mom wouldn't her fourteen-year-old son stay home alone, I was a little shocked that Leeland was gone. I was gonna miss playing Dungeons and Dragons at his house. "And?" I added, waiting for the "exciting" part of Rowley's news.

"It's Erica!" he exclaimed, now deciding to speak normally.

It took me a second to process this. Erica... The girl who Mom was always talking about? The one Rowley had a huge crush on?

I grinned. "When's she babysitting?"

He literally began bouncing in his seat, I kid you not. "Tonight!" he squealed. I put my arm on his shoulder and motioned with my other hand for him to calm down. Honestly, sometimes I wonder how I ended up with this kid.

"Can we hang out then?" I asked. He nodded his head faster than I'd ever seen. I sighed and went back to my seat.

Sometimes, I just don't understand life.

* * *

Rodrick POV

I was pissed off.

First of all, I was the only person from the party that was at school today (well, besides Erica), so no one was there to compliment how awesome our gig was or how crazy last night was. Second, where in the world was Tom? Something was up with that guy, and I didn't know what. Third, I had a massive headache, and the girl who was in _all of my classes_ was doing everything in her power to make it worse.

I made it until lunch finally, although I'd really been sleeping the whole day. Greg and Rowley once again sat by us.

"Hey, Bubby," I greeted while lazily laying my head on my arm. I didn't get bother to bring the lunch Mom packed me since I felt sick from the room spinning around.

Bubby just scoffed, and then dug into his lunch. He pulled out an egg salad sandwhich (yuck), a fruit cup (I think it was peaches - yuckier), and V8 juice (not that bad, but it still didn't taste right to me). But then he pulled out the most glorious food Mom had ever packed. It was a beautiful - chocolate with chocolate frosting.

"She freaking gave you a cupcake?" I shouted before grabbing it to examine the object closer.

"Yes, because _I'm_ the good child," he retorted while grabbing the cupcake back.

"When did she make cupcakes?" I questioned, feeling very dizzy all of the sudden. I laid my head back onto my comfortable arms.

"Last night, while you were at the party." Bubby waved his magnificent desert under my nose - just in time for me to sniff it. I wanted to take it from him again, believe me, but the scent of chocolate now made me feel sick.

"Whatever. Where's Fatty?" I asked.

"Who?" Bubby questioned.

"Rowley. The Tub. Ooh, I've got a name! Tubby." I sighed and closed my eyes. "Tubby and Bubby. How cute."

"I'm right here, DUMBY!" Oh, good. Tubby had come up with a lame comeback. Cool. I looked to my right and saw that he had, in fact, been there all along, I just never heard or saw him.

"I'm back," Erica breathed while sitting next to me. "What'd I miss?"

"Rodrick came up with a new name for Rowley," Bubby informed her.

"Oh great," she mumbled under her breath.

"Tubby!" I announced for the whole table to hear. Erica put her face in her hands, no doubt frustrated. That lightened my mood slightly. My new goal was to annoy her since she seemed to have no problem with taunting me.

"So anyways, are you excited for tonight, Rowley?" she asked Tubby.

"Oh yeah! Is it alright if Greg comes over too?" he pleaded.

I could feel her eyes on me. She was thinking about it. _Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes. I could really use less noise for my nap this evening._

"Hmm... No, I'm sorry Greg. I don't think Rodrick could bear not being with his younger brother this evening. I don't want him to be lonely," she answered, fake concern dripping from her voice. I could hear them all snickering. This wasn't fair. Can't anyone respect a guy with a hangover these days?

* * *

**Ok, so not super exciting. But I felt like the last chapter to the chapter I wrote before this one was kind of a big jump, so I decided to continue with this one. It wasn't that long, but the chapter is definitely longer. I think. And better, in my opinion. So if this one sucked, I'm sorry! **

**BY THE WAY. I wanted to mention something that I'm not sure if I've said in any author's notes for this story - I do not swear, period. I don't use the Lord's name in vain either, so you won't be finding that in this story. Call me old fashioned if you want, but it's what I stand by, and I will continue to enforce it throughout all of my stories. So if you were really looking forward to hearing some swearwords, I can assure you that you won't find it here. (Although I did mention Rodrick giving Erica the finger - that's about as close to it as I'll get.)**

**Anyways, I'm sorry if the Tubby and Bubby thing confuses anyone. Also - was Leeland the name of Rowley's old babysitter? I can't remember. I have the books, but I'm not near them at the moment. Did I spell it right?**

**So now I have to edit the next chapter a bit more, should be up in a couple of days, hopefully. I'm happy to say that my writer's block has been cured, at least for this story.**

**Anyways, have an awesome day!**

**-Venus**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm so bored, and I feel like writing. You know, when I should be doing my summer homework. Or paying attention to the movie I'm currently watching – Knight and Day. I'm confused as to what's going on. Maybe I should pay attention. But anyways, I've missed writing this story. I have ideas now for the story, so I can assure you that it's going somewhere.**

* * *

Chapter 7

Rodrick POV

"Buenas tardes, estudiantes!" Señorita Dias greeted us. The classroom responded in Spanish while I played with my already chewed-up pencil. Yeah, that's right. Second week of school and I've already ruined all of my school supplies.

It was Tuesday - I eventually survived my hangover, although Greg had been instructed by Erica to make my life miserable. I don't know which one was more annoying. But either way, they were out to get me.

"Hoy, vamos a empezar un proyecto..." I decided to just lay my head down for a second while she talked in Spanish. Honestly, the only reason why I've been able to stick in Spanish is because I snuck out of detention and went to the teachers lounge right before finals began to get the answers to the tests. I usually do mediocre work in class and then ace the finals. Teachers haven't suspected a thing.

"So, class, for the project, I've decided to personally select the pairings. Margarita y Tomás, Ángela y Mateo, Elena y Roberto..."

My head shot up. Roberto was my Spanish name. Who did she say I was paired up with again?

I decided to look around casually – sure, I was paying attention – and see if anyone was making eye contact with me or looking truly annoyed – I'd gotten both reactions from past partners – but nobody gave me any concern. _Whatever, just wait until they approach you,_ I told myself.

"Ok, go talk to your partners and begin your scripts, clase!" she instructed enthusiastically. Everyone stood up and happily greeted their partners. I got up and looked around stupidly for my partner. Ooh, was it Stephanie Hauke? She was a major hottie; tall, blonde, and – nope, Nick Lache was her partner. How about Jenny Richards? She was ok-looking - no, Ricky Alvarez and her were avidly discussing their awesome ideas for the project. All the nerds got the hot babes as their partners. I silently cursed in my mind before finally asking the teacher who my partner was.

"Who's my partner?" I inquired. She looked up from her book, startled.

"Didn't you pay attention? I read out the list and asked if anyone missed their name," she explained.

I shook my head. "I must've not heard you."

She took a big breath before addressing me again. "¿Puedes preguntarme en español, Roberto?"

I blinked. "No sé." Yep, the only expressions I knew in Spanish were "¿Puedo ir al baño, por favor?", meaning "Can I go to the bathroom?" and "No sé", meaning "I don't know". That's all I learned in my four years of Spanish class. The public school system has deeply failed me.

"I just asked if you could ask me in Spanish," she finally told me.

"Uhh..." I began dumbly before my partner tapped me on the shoulder.

"Hey, buddy!" she greeted a little too cheery, it almost seemed fake. Which it was, I found out after seeing who it was.

"You?" I questioned her. She simply smirked, that little know-it-all.

"I see you and Elena already know each other," Srta. D intruded.

"We've met," she responded, not wiping that expression off of her face. "C'mon, I've got a couple ideas for the project."

She dragged me by my arm to her desk and pointed to the one next to hers, motioning for me to sit down.

"Look, Erica, if you could just tell me what this project's all about, that'd be great," I grunted as I sat down.

She raised her eyebrows. "I figured you weren't paying attention. Seeing as this is the beginning of the year, I don't think you're off to a very good start." I just stared back. "Do you even care?" I shook my head no. "Tsk tsk tsk. Rodrick, I'm very disappointed in you."

I gritted my teeth. Ever since Mom busted us at Steve's place, she'd somehow been in contact with Erica. She often mentioned her at dinner. Then, Rowley, or Tubby, as I now called him, was in need of a babysitter, so Mom told Tubby's mom that Erica was, as she put it, "A positive role model to the kids and such a sweet and caring girl." So she babysat him on Friday, and now I was sure she was going to be his regular babysitter now.

Finally, the bell rang to save me. I stood right up and went straight to my locker, not realizing that my "buddy" was following me.

"So, Rodrick, you know this project is due on Thursday, right?" Erica closed my locker shut before I could even put my books away.

"We have two days, chill out," I told her, beginning to dial my combination again.

She slid under my arm and blocked my locker with her head. If only I had a bottom locker. I stared down at her – she was maybe six inches shorter than I was, I estimated five feet and six inches. Her forest-green eyes challenged my brown ones.

"This is a big deal to me, Rodrick Heffley. Do not let me down," she threatened, her voice icier than I'd ever heard. Although I'd never admit it, it sent chills down my spine. "We will not fail this project."

I took my hand off of the lock finally, realizing how stubborn this girl truly is. "Fine. I'll put some effort into it."

She raised her left eyebrow. "Then we'll go to the library and work on it right now?"

My eyes widened. Was this a joke? Who went to the library anymore? I began chuckling before Erica gave me a death stare. "Wait, are you serious?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes, the library, where people do actual work."

I shook my head. "You are so naïve. Nobody goes there in this town. It's practically deserted." Just then, Cody and Steve walked by as I said the next line: "We'll do it at my house."

"Whoa, Rodrick! How'd you get her to want to do it with you?" Cody laughed in my ear as I realized how what I said could have come across to them.

I turned away from Erica. "I swear, we're just talking about a project-"

"That's some school project you got there," Steve called out as he walked away. "Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you! Tom quit! I guess she's gonna have to be our new singer!"

"Just don't scare her off first!" Cody added before walking out the door.

Erica shook her head, walking next to me. "Perverts," she muttered under her breath. "I think they forgot my name, too."

"It could've been a _lot_ worse," I said before attempting to open my locker once again.

"So, your house then?" she asked before visiting her own locker.

I sighed, but then began thinking of a plan to get her back in my mind. I know, I'm mean. But in my defense, she was the one who was making me start working on this Spanish script the day it was assigned. I smiled evilly. "I'll drive."

Erica's face turned grave. "No. Never again."

"The buses left. My house is a mile away. By the time you get to my house, I'll be napping." Sweet revenge was about to happen, I could just taste it.

After a few minutes, she finally decided to do it my way. "Fine. But no speeding, no hitting the curb, no-"

"Erica, c'mon. It's a two minute car drive. You'll survive," I retorted smartly.

Finally, she reluctantly agreed under my terms and I led her to my car.

This was going to be fun.

* * *

**That was a longer chapter than the other ones. Plus, not completely conversation! **

**You gotta love Rodrick, but I also really like how Erica is totally not afraid to stand up to him. Ok, I know I'm weird. I've become attached to fictional characters that are all under the control of my fingers. Anywho...**

**So I tried to describe Erica a little bit since I haven't even given a physical description for her at all in this story. Actually, I don't think I described Rodrick either. So I'll try to be more descriptive in the next chapters.**

**I thought this was a longer chapter. I lied. It's not much longer. Oh well. **

**Oh - and another thing! (sorry this is like the longest author's note in FanFiction history) I purposely didn't mention that Erica was his partner until later. I don't know why, I just felt like it. I just didn't want people thinking that I forgot to mention her name or something, because I have done that before.**

**I'm kinda excited! Rodrick has an interesting evening planned for Erica. You'll just have to wait to find out what happens. I'll probably type up the next chapter right after this one just so I can get all of my ideas out before I forget. I'm on a roll here, people!**

**So anyways, R&R, favorite, whatever you want. :D**

**-Venus**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey, guys. Guess what time it is? **

**(voice somewhere in the distance) ADVENTURE TIME!**

**...No. **

**Anyways, it's almost one in the morning, but I'm kind of an insomniac, so yeah.**

**OOH! So I wanna share some of my personal life with you! I went to an Owl City concert. It made my life. I cried when I first saw Adam Young's face, no joke. I know, I'm weird. **

**ANYWAYS. Onward with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 8

Erica POV

I will admit to anyone _but_ Rodrick himself that I was actually terrified to be in his van again. I tried to get out of riding in it, but he wouldn't budge, so I guess I'd have to suffer.

_It's all in the name of the project, Erica. Don't let this idiot get in the way,_ I thought over and over in my head, however, that did not put me at ease the slightest bit.

Alright, I'll just come right out and say it – despite the fact that he was a bad influence on me, something drew me to Rodrick. And now I was kinda stuck in his group, since I'd been forced into being the lead singer of his band. He was a good guy on the inside, he just wouldn't let it show.

Maybe it was time for me to change that.

Rodrick lead me to his disgusting van and even opened the door for me. That was the first thing he did that made me suspicious. He was up to something...

"Alright, let's crank the tunes!" he shouted while putting in his Löded Diper CD.

I moaned. "Please don't make me listen to 'Exploded Diaper' again! I'm so sick of it!"

He was in the middle of backing up when I said that, which maybe I should've thought twice about because he slammed on the brakes and sent us lurching forward. Then, he changed the gear and parked the car.

"You're sick of our number one hit single?" His expression looked horrified, as if it wasn't even possible for one to hate a song by the almighty band.

I nodded slowly. "I'm sorry, but you guys aren't utilizing your talents very well. You guys should write songs with actual meaning to them. Then you might actually make it in the music industry. You see, the guys that-"

Rodrick put his hand over my mouth. "Are you saying that we're bad?"

I ripped his palm away as quickly as I could. "No! That's the exact opposite of what I'm saying! I'm trying to explain that you guys are great musicians, you're just not putting your skills to use."

Rodrick said nothing as he put the gear back into reverse and backed out of the parking space as fast as he could. As we were stopped, he gave me an evil look. "Wanna make a donut?"

I thought for a second. "The actual food, or the thing you do with your car?" Silly me. How could I even ask such a thing when I knew the answer?

He didn't even respond. He just did it. He sped over to the field right next to our school.

"Stop, Rodrick! That's the school's property! You could get in big trouble!" I scolded as he drove over.

"Screw that, Erica! You need to really live!" he shouted as he turned the wheel all the way around. I proceeded to scream at the top of my lungs. I'm not very good with spinning. It usually makes me sick to my stomach. The Tilt-a-Whirl ride isn't exactly my favorite. But Rodrick kept turning, no matter how many times I begged him to stop.

Finally after a few minutes, he laughed maniacally before revving up the engine and speeding away.

He continued to drive at seventy miles an hour down his street until he finally reached his house. I stepped on the breaks in full force, causing the van to screech and stop all at once.

"That was fun!" he exclaimed. "Did you have fun, Erica?"

I held up my finger at him before answering, trying not to puke. He waited for me to reply, too. After a few seconds, I finally caught my breath and settled my stomach.

I turned to him, grabbed my purse, and preceded to hit him with it before telling him how I really felt.

"YOU IDIOT!" I shrieked, still whacking him on the shoulder. "YOU." Whack. "COULD'VE." Whack. "KILLED." Whack. "ME!" I finished with one final whack, then held my face with my trembling hands.

He chuckled, obviously not phased by my abuse. "Oh, c'mon, it wasn't _that_ bad!"

I gave him a look that could kill. "It was completely, one hundred percent, with no doubt in my mind the worst experience of my life!" I was getting hysterical. He traumatized me! How could he even consider such an activity "fun"? He broke the law at least six different times in the last five minutes.

Rodrick was still amused. He got out of his seat and opened my door for me once again. I still didn't get out. "Oh, don't tell me you want me to drive you home?" I kicked him, though apparently not hard enough because I didn't even get a reaction from it. "Alright, then let's work on the project."

He held out his hand, but when I didn't grab it, he decided to pick me up like a sac of potatoes and bring me inside his house. I tried to struggle, but he wouldn't let me down until we were in his house.

As soon as he opened the door, Mrs. Heffley was waiting for him. "Rodrick!" she yelled. "What are you doing?"

"Just working on a Spanish project, Mom," he told her innocently.

"Put the girl down!" she commanded. I could feel him shrug before he finally put me down. Mrs. Heffley freaked out once she found out it was me who he was carrying. "Erica? Oh my gosh, are you alright?" She pulled me into a hug. "You're shaking, dear!"

She led me to the couch and wrapped me up in a warm blanket. "Here you go, honey. Try to calm down. I'll punish Rodrick in a second. He's not even supposed to have anyone over to hang out! He's grounded!" She began rambling on, and it took me a little while to process this new information.

"Wait a minute – he's grounded?"

She gave me a funny look. "Yes, didn't I already mention that?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah, you did, he just didn't tell me. I'm sorry, I wouldn't have forced him to work on the project if I knew that-"

"Wait," she interrupted. "It seriously was a project?" I nodded quickly. There was no way it was ever gonna be something other than that. "Well then, I guess that's alright then, although I would've preferred for Rodrick to ask me before..." She seemed to be completely frazzled, trying to sort out her thoughts. "Alright, Erica. Rodrick's in his room downstairs. You two can work on your project. Unless he scared you off, and if so I can drive you home-"

"It's fine, I'll go work on it. I'm really hoping to get a good grade on this," I explained. Ugh, I just hate it when I have to sound like a complete nerd to gain the support of adults. I mean, grades _are_ important to me, but my life doesn't _focus_ on them. I really like to make Dad happy by succeeding in school, anyways.

I got up, folded the blanket, and went down to the basement. Rodrick was laying on his back on his bed, except for his head, which was off the mattress and completely upside-down. As was the TV he was watching.

"...Why is your TV upside-down?" I questioned cautiously, not sure I wanted to know the answer.

He pointed to his head. "So I can watch it like this. Duh."

I tentatively walked over and examined the TV closer. "Isn't that bad for it?"

He turned it off, sat up, and shrugged. "I dunno. Does it really matter?"

"Yes! Of course it is! Your parents paid for it!"

He shook his head. "No, they didn't. It was a hand-me-down from my great aunt Gertrude. She doesn't need it anymore."

I sighed. "Alright, we're going really off-topic. Let's start the project."

* * *

**To be continued. :D There's more stuff on the way. I'll just tell you now – Erica gets invited to dinner. I'm excited. I love when characters can get back at each other. :3**

**So R&R, favorite, whatever you feel like. **

**-Venus**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: This is dedication. I have 2 weeks to read 2 books, finish 2 more, and do chemistry homework, and here I am, writing another update to you! **

**It's more procrastination, but I like to convince myself that it's dedication...**

**Well, thank you everyone for the reviews and favorites and all that good stuff! With every email I get, the more motivated I get. (:**

**CreatingCassie – thank you for your feedback! (: I was planning on making Erica rebel at some point, but I'll probably do it sooner rather than later. And I understand about not writing about things I haven't experienced, I just wanted to make Rodrick get drunk. LOL. **

**Anyways, enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 9

Greg POV

I came bounding down the stairs to talk to Mom. I'd been begging for a distraction from my homework, so when I heard her yelling at Rodrick, I saw the window of opportunity open.

"What were you yelling about?" I asked, as if I'd been interrupted while reading my English book, which, by the way, was The Odyssey. What a boring book.

"Oh, Rodrick brought Erica home and was torturing her." Mom seemed a little frazzled. She really liked Erica, from what I could tell. She always mentioned her during meals and always told Rodrick that he should try to be like her. But then Rodrick would tell her that he was a dude and that was anatomically impossible (not that word for word – Rodrick doesn't have a very sophisticated vocabulary) and that he had a – but Mom would cut him off before he said the next word and before he would need to give Manny more money through the swear jar.

"Uh, okay," I grunted in response.

"I just need to make it up to her somehow..." she murmured while rubbing her temples.

"How about we invite her for dinner?" I suggested, not realizing how much of an annoyance this could amount to be. Silly me, why didn't I think of the consequences? Mom would go absolutely nuts if Erica said yes!

Her head snapped up. "That's a brilliant idea. I'll go invite her right now!"

Then, Mom literally skipped over to the kitchen to begin dinner. Seriously. She skipped.

I groaned and decided that reading about Odysseus's adventures were much more interesting than Mom's obsession with Rodrick's friend.

* * *

Rodrick POV

"Nosotros vamos a ir de vacaciones," Erica recited enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes. She was in a weird mood today to irritate me. Probably because I did that donut and scared the crap out of her. But that didn't mean that I wasn't going to fight back.

"¿Dónde quieres ir, Roberto?" she asked, a fake smile plastered all over her place.

I looked down at my script before she snatched it from me. "Memorize it," she gritted through her teeth.

I stared at her. "If you don't let me look at it, then I can't respond."

She groaned inwardly. "Why do you have to make things so difficult?" She began to pace back and forth while I sat back down on my unmade bed. "I swear, Rodrick, if you don't cooperate, I'll just do the project all by myself and-"

"Chill out!" I interrupted, standing back up in the process. "Who cares? It's the beginning of the year. You need to relax." I put my hands on her shoulders, beginning to massage them. You might be thinking that I was totally out of character there, but it was all part of the master plan. You know, to piss her off.

She turned around and slapped me, not hard though. "Don't do that ever again, creep."

I laughed and took a step closer. "C'mon, you need a break, and you know it."

She jumped back, her discomfort showing, but not giving me an answer.

"Don't you want to just ignore all that homework in your bag? Forget it ever happened? Stop trying to please your dad?" Ooh, I was getting her. Her walls were slowly beginning to deteriorate. Whoa, big word.

She continued to back up until she hit the wall, and I followed after her. When she couldn't back up anymore, I cornered her. We were in the same position we were in at school earlier, but this time, she was the uncomfortable one. "Let's go somewhere together."

She looked down, avoiding my eyes. "We have a... uh... project."

I rolled my eyes. "We still have until Thursday. You need to take some time off."

She bit her lip as her eyes slowly glided up to meet my stare. "Won't your mom notice?"

I smirked. She was faltering. "I sneak out all the time. She's too busy doing Mom-stuff."

"But you're grounded," she retorted.

I shrugged. "So? I'm not allowed to drink beer, but I did it anyways." She sighed in response. Finally, it was my chance. The final move.

Slowly, I moved my right hand under her chin and lifted it up in order for her lips to meet mine. Yep, I kissed her. A soft, un-Rodrick like kiss. After a few seconds, I tested the water to see if she'd let go or keep kissing back, and she kept at it.

_Mission complete._

Erica POV

In my head, my conscience was all like, _Erica, what are you doing?_ But my inner-girl was totally for it. I was kissing Rodrick.

I'd never kissed anyone for real. I remember kissing Brandon Smith in first grade on the cheek because he gave me a teddy bear for Valentine's Day, and in seventh grade a boy named Keith gave me a peck when we were "going out", but I'd never had an actual _kiss_.

Rodrick was definitely experienced, though. He didn't accidentally bite my lip like I did with him. How embarrassing. But he didn't stop, so neither did I.

Eventually, though, we both had to break for air. I never realized how when you kiss someone, you can't really breath at the same time. I had to look away from Rodrick because now I was now a little ashamed and honestly disconcerted.

"What was that all about?" I finally said, breaking the silence.

He shrugged, a small smile etched on his face. "You kissed back."

My face turned red. "Did not." Oh, but I did.

"Did too."

"Did not."

Suddenly, Mrs. Heffley came down to his room. She had a huge grin and an apron on. "Erica, would you like to stay for dinner?"

I said yes before I could even think about it, but to be honest, I would've ended up eating dinner alone, then finishing homework and waiting for Dad. He was always working late to pay for us both. Oh dear, he would be furious if he knew who I just kissed...

So now I was eating supper with Rodrick. Cue the awkwardness.

* * *

**Ok, so I _was_ planning on making this the dinner chapter, but I also wanted Rodrick and Erica to kiss, and this was what I was planning on originally, so dinner will be next chapter. I'll try to update soon! Thanks for all the reviews and favorites, etc! I love you guys! (:**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: So I realize I haven't updated quickly enough since I sorta ended on a cliffhanger. So I'm going to work extremely hard on this chapter to try and make it up for you guys. (:**

**But I have an excuse! I've been in school for like 3 weeks now and I'm in 3 honors classes and 1 AP class. So I'm up to here (-gestures up to forehead) with homework. I'm practically swimming in it.**

**aHarryPotterFreak – haha, I love your suggestion. I never really thought about getting Erica knocked up. That might be interesting. But I ain't goin into details, I don't write lemons. But who knows what may happen... *winkwink***

* * *

Chapter 10

Erica POV

We eventually finished our script before dinner, the only thing we had to do now was memorize lines. That part would prove itself to be the most difficult for a hard-headed Rodrick.

I couldn't even look him in the eye anymore. My face would immediately turn red and Rodrick would just laugh. It wasn't fair. I'd never kissed anyone before, unlike him. I'm awkward!

Finally, while we were in the middle of another argument about the project, I finally decided to ask him about the eight hundred pound elephant in the room once again. "Why in the world did you kiss me?"

He shook his head in disapproval. "You just really need an answer, don't you?" I nodded furiously. "Have you ever considered the fact that I could be remotely attracted to you?"

I jumped up and began pointing immaturely. "You used big words!"

Rodrick rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

After I was able to recover from the fact that Rodrick was starting to sound like an adult through his vocabulary, I realized what he said. "Wait you like me?"

"Ugh!" he groaned, laying on his back, hands covering his entire face. "You really have no experience with guys, do you?"

"I do too!" I shouted, crossing my arms immediately. "I've dated three boys in my life." Rodrick groaned even louder. "What? I don't date around."

He sat up and raised an eyebrow. "Great excuse."

My arms went straight to my hips. "I _so_ can get a boyfriend!" He didn't answer. He was just _so_ frustrating! "Stop implying that I can't get a boyfriend! You kissed me, didn't you?"

"Not the same thing."

I crossed my arms once again. "It so is."

"When did I ever ask you out?"

My face turned scarlet out of fury. "Rodrick Heffley, if you just did that for fun, I swear I am gonna-"

He stood up and grabbed my shoulders, making me freeze. After he kissed me, I now felt like he had some power over me. I don't know why. "Calm down. It was just a kiss. Don't make me do it again."

I stared back. "Wait, you actually liked it?" he asked, confused. When I didn't respond, the answer was pretty clear. He snickered. "Well then, that might just earn you another."

He leaned in to kiss me, but I decided to be mean and held my hand in front of my lips. After he accidentally kissed them, his eyes popped open and he jumped back.

"Not unless you ask me out." I don't know where all of this was coming from; I'd like to say my impulsive side. But I was pretty attracted to Rodrick right now, regardless.

He grinned. "You want to go out with me?"

I looked away again. He was enjoying this.

"Fine, wanna go out?"

"Really, is that all?"

"Hey, you're lucky I'm even asking you in the first place!"

"That's so not how you ask a girl out!"

"Well, I'm sorry, I'm a guy!"

"That's no exc-"

Mrs. Heffley opened the door to come downstairs. Rodrick backed away and began pretending like we were rehearsing. "Erica, I think your line's next."

"Umm... Quiere ir de compras. ¿Dónde está el centro comercial?"

"Ah, está en la calle – Oh, hi Mom!" he greeted, way too cheery.

Wait – he actually said the right line. Could he have known his lines all along and was just being irritating?

She gave him a questioning look. "Whatever you broke, replace it before I find out." Rodrick rolled his eyes and flopped back onto his bed. "Dinner's ready, wash your hands and head on up!"

"Thank you Mrs. Heffley," I said before running upstairs to the bathroom. However, while I was in the midst of sprinting upstairs, Rodrick was right on my tail. Literally. He was grabbing my butt.

I kicked him from behind and continued on up the stairs to the bathroom.

We were definitely the most dysfunctional pair in the world.

As I washed my hands, he opened the door a crack and hissed, "So is that a yes or a no?"

"What do you think?" I questioned, my drying hands on my hips.

"Fine, don't go out with me." He immediately closed the door and held it shut.

"Rodrick!" I whined while banging on the door. "You know what I meant."

I could hear him smirk outside of the door and he slowly let go of the knob. I burst out, only to find that Rodrick had disappeared and Mrs. Heffley was waiting for me.

"Alright, Erica. I made burgers, I'll let you fix yours before the boys get here."

I quickly made myself a burger and sat down next to who I was guessing was Rodrick's little brother. He was adorable – I was guessing no older than four.

"This is Manny," Mrs. Heffley introduced. I smiled and turned to Manny. He looked nothing like his older brothers; Rodrick and Greg at least both had dark hair and dark eyes. But Manny had light hair and grey eyes.

Before I could introduce myself, the guys of the house bounded down the stairs to the overwhelming amount of hamburgers. Mr. Heffley fixed himself two cheeseburgers, Greg made one double-cheeseburger and two normal ones, and Rodrick fixed himself three cheeseburgers and two double-cheeseburgers.

After they all sat down, the dug in. I finished my burger relatively quickly and stared at Rodrick as he crammed his food into his mouth.

"How do you eat that much and stay so skinny?" I asked out loud.

"I'm a guy," he replied, his mouth completely full with food chunks spilling out.

"Rodrick! Don't talk with your mouth full!" Mrs. Heffley scolded.

"C'mon, Mom, she was asking me a question," he said, still food jumping out of his mouth.

Mrs. Heffley put her head in her hands and stared at her husband, who didn't reply because he was too concentrated on consuming his meal.

After a long and awkward silence, Greg decided to break the ice. "So Erica, have you read the Odyssey yet?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, and I loved it! Are you reading it?"

He sighed and said, "Yes, but I don't understand it."

"Oh, I can help you with it if you want," I replied.

Mrs. Heffley stood up and began putting away dishes, since all of us but Rodrick had finished. "Erica, you don't have to do that?"

I got up to assist her in cleaning up. "Nah, it's fine. It is a really dense book."

After we cleaned it all up, Mrs. Heffley, Rodrick, and I all moved to the den and we watched some old videos.

"Now this is Rodrick taking a bath," Mrs. Heffley explained, a big smile across her face. I giggled as I saw the naked butt cheeks of my new boyfriend.

"Mooooom," Rodrick groaned as he put his hand over my eyes. I continued to snicker and pulled his arm off. Right after, he poked me on my side. Now, one thing you need to know about me is that I scream if anyone touches my side. I don't exactly know why, but it's an automatic reaction.

I shrieked and rolled off of the couch, holding my sides and laughing hysterically. I was literally ROTFLOL.

Rodrick gave a triumphant grin and continued to poke my sides.

"Rodrick!" Mrs. Heffley chided. He stopped and looked up at her. "That's no way to treat a guest."

"No, it's fine Mrs. Heffley. He was just joking around," I assured her as I sat up, trying to recover from my fit of laughter.

She raised her eyebrow at Rodrick and then reclined on her chair, sighing. "Well, I guess now would be a good time for us to retire."

"Mom, you're not _that_ old," Rodrick replied.

She smiled. "Thank you, but I didn't mean that kind of retire. I meant it's time to go to bed."

"Oh," he mumbled.

"Will you please drive our guest home?" she asked while putting her hair into a ponytail.

"Sure." He immediately pulled me up and grabbed his keys.

Before we got into the van, I made him promise that he wouldn't be such a reckless driver. He for the most part kept up his promise, up until he pulled into the parking lot of my apartment complex.

"Rodrick!" I hollered while smacking him on the shoulder as he parked the car.

"Oh come on, you know you love it," he muttered as he grabbed the back of my head and pulled me in for a kiss. I dug my fingers in his hair, pulling his face closer to mine. I don't know what got into me, but Rodrick was hot, and that's all I cared about. He forced me closer as well, and we were both pretty much plastered against each other.

He trailed his lips down to my neck and I allowed him to do so, but only for a couple of seconds because right when I opened my eyes and stared outside of the front window, I saw my dad, staring at us in shock.

* * *

**Alright, so that was the dinner chapter. I realize that there wasn't a lot of dinner involved in it. I also understand that both Rodrick and Erica are being totally out of character, with Rodrick tickling Erica and Erica making out with him. But you must understand this: Rodrick is a hormonally-crazed, teenage boy who really wants to round second base, and Erica is a confused teenage girl who is a little bit immature socially since she's never stayed in one school for more than a school-year. So she's going to start her "rebellion phase" a little bit later than others. As for the tickling, I just thought it was cute. **

**And yes, I do scream when someone touches my side, no matter what. It's really embarrassing. But NO I do NOT like the Odyssey at ALL. I only read about 4 of the chapters from it Freshman year. **

**I put a lot of effort into this, but I'm not sure if it turned out well or not. I know there's a lot of dialogue, but you kind of need that for a social occasion. But if the chapter sucks, I'll delete it and try to rewrite it. **

**As for Rodrick and Erica, (which I will from now on call Rodrica) I really wanted to make them be friends for just a little bit longer, but plans change.**

**I'm sorry I left it on another cliffhanger! I'll try to update next week. **

**-Venus/Abby**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: *waves sheepishly* Hi...? I FEEL LIKE SUCH A HORRIBLE TERRIBLE PERSON! I completely forgot how I ended that chapter... I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING AFTER THAT CLIFFHANGER. **

**So anyways, I'm on winter break, but unfortunately, I've been spending a lot of my free time playing Sims instead of actually being productive and updating my story! So yes, you have a right to be mad. **

**So I'm going to wish a merry Christmas to everyone! My hope is to update again around New Years, so hopefully I can keep that promise. **

**Thank you to everyone who favorited, subscribed, and reviewed! It's pretty cool. So now here I am, trying to make it up to you!**

* * *

Chapter 11

Erica POV

"Rodrick!" I urged suddenly, pushing him back. This caused him to hit the wheel, causing the horn to go off.

"What the-" Rodrick began before noticing my dad giving him the death glare from the the driver's side window.

I got out of the car quickly, and Rodrick followed. My dad didn't say a word. I could tell he was mad because his jaw was noticeably clenched and his eyes were dark and cold.

"Hi Dad, this is, uh..." I began, looking over at Rodrick. "My boyfriend?"

He nodded stiffly. "I can tell."

I elbowed Rodrick hard. He quickly extended his hand to my dad. "Hello Mr. Waters. I'm, um... Her boyfriend."

My dad shook his hand shortly, not breaking eye contact with him. "Does her boyfriend have a name?"

Rodrick cleared his throat. "Rodrick Heffley, sir."

My dad's eyes widened. "Are you that kid who wears the makeup?"

"Only for gigs," Rodrick answered, trying to reassure him. Except that really didn't help at all.

My dad is a pretty old-fashioned guy. He still envisions me dating and eventually marrying and reproducing with the star football player. He only wants me going out with the big, muscly, buff guys, but that really wasn't Rodrick at all. Rodrick was skinny and looked like a punk, and that wasn't going to fly with my dad.

"Well, 'Rodrick', we will have to sit down for dinner sometime to discuss things," he grumbled, still staring him down.

Rodrick gulped. "Alright, I'll see you guys later then."

"Bye," I replied softly, waving. He grimaced at me before taking off.

My dad gave me a stern look and pointed to the apartment building. "We'll talk inside."

Oh, God.

* * *

"Why would you even consider _him_?" my dad questioned minutes after we arrived home.

I shrugged. "I don't know, I like him and he likes me."

"You could do so much better, Erica!" he shouted, arms crossed.

I continued to look down. "He was the only one who actually looked out for me on my first day of school."

Dad shook his head. "That's not good enough."

I stood up and made my way to my room. "Well, I think he is. I don't care if he's not an honors student or getting accepted into Harvard." Before closing the door, I made sure to mention, "Plus, there is a good guy underneath his exterior."

My dad never intruded to argue more, he actually went straight off to bed. Meanwhile, I laid in bed, sleepless, thinking of how I could get my dad to accept him.

* * *

**Short update, I know. [probably my shortest] But I had to get it to not end on a cliffhanger! I'll try and update soon!**

**Happy holidays!**

**-Abby/Venus**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: So uh... HI! **

**I want to explain why I haven't updated in forever because I think you guys deserve an explanation. It's a really long story, plus there are several excuses as to why I didn't update for like 6 months. **

**So first off, my life has been absolutely crazy. Academically, this past school year was very challenging. I'm not the smartest person in the world, but I was taking classes that people of that sort take. So I was up to my head in homework, not to mention I didn't even understand I was learning. On weekends, sometimes I was free, but when I was, I just wanted to do nothing. That's why I didn't socialize anywhere outside of school this year, which was sad. But now I'm off of school until late August, so hopefully I can update a lot! We'll see, I'm also taking a class this summer, working for a week, and then starting Marching Band on August 1st. (I'm section leader for the marching flutes and playing piccolo, woo!) I have summer homework, but it's not that bad, and on the first day of summer (today) I already started working on it. I have the feeling that this summer will be very productive! **

**And secondably, (THAT WAS AN ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT REFERENCE. IF YOU GET IT I LOVE YOU. lessthanthreelessthanthree) I had sooooo much going on in my personal life. I was doing newspaper and in March/April/May I did my school's musical. (which I guess is school-related but whatever) Also, over spring break I had surgery (Just my wisdom tooth surgery, don't worry. But I was so out of it, I don't know if you would've wanted to read what I wrote then, lol. I went to Minneapolis on a band trip in early March. I also went on vacation to Arizona two weeks later, and then I had a ton of homework to make up afterwards. *fast forward a few months* The day after the musical ended, I flew out to Idaho to see my great grandma, who wasn't doing so well. I don't really feel the need to get into it, I think she's doing fine, especially after fracturing her back and breaking her hip in two falls. She also had to get hip surgery. I'm glad I visited her and it was a very meaningful trip. So I traveled a lot this year, and it's only halfway done. I HOPE YOU CATCH MY DRIFT THAT WAS VERY OUT OF ORDER AND ALL OVER THE PLACE. **

**Not to mention I also have had writer's block ever since January. ICK. **

**But now I'm back. If any of you have actually stuck around, I thank you soooo much. It seriously means a lot to me that you would still consider my story. I started it without much of a purpose, but I'm working on finding it somewhere. I've got some plans, but we'll see. **

**Well, woulda just look at it! (EDDBASSMASTER REFERENCE. IF YOU GET IT I LOVE YOU TOO. lessthanthreelessthanthree) That whole thing took up almost a darn page. Sorry about that. **

**Anywho, onward to chapter 12!**

* * *

Chapter 12

Erica POV

It was a rough morning, to say the least. Normally, every morning my dad wakes me up by giving me a kiss and saying that he's off to work. Then, I'm awake at that point and get ready for school.

But this morning, he grumbled over to my room and said, "Wake up." He left right afterwards, not even bothering to say goodbye.

I sighed, annoyed at the fact that he was being so incredibly difficult, and then started getting ready. Then, I looked in the mirror, and _what in the world was that on my neck?_

Oh, crap. Freaking Rodrick gave me a freaking hickey.

I stared at the lovely purple-ish spot on my neck, trying to decide what to do. Yes, I do wear makeup and I most definitely own foundation and cover-up. (Thanks to my acne phase in eighth grade, I'm all stocked up on that, thank you very much.) But after about fifteen layers of applying it, the mark just wouldn't go away.

"How in the world did this even cover up any acne if it can't cover up a simple bruise?" I wondered aloud to myself, about to throw the darn thing across the bathroom. I decided to leave my hair down for the sake of the bruise. Hopefully my thick-ish hair would conceal it.

"Oh, Rodrick, you are going to hear about this..." I muttered, angrily applying mascara. Unfortunately, while doing so, I poked myself in the eye with it. If you take anything away from my story, please, girls, don't ever put on mascara in anger. Also, don't do drugs. Alright, thanks.

So here I was, going to school with a red eye, a hickey, and a crappy attitude. Plus, the bus came before I had a chance to grab anything to eat. So I was pretty much a mess.

The bus ride to school was torture. At this point in September, it's supposed to be getting a little cooler, and, you know, change into AUTUMN. But no, instead, it was ninety degree weather at seven in the morning. I couldn't imagine how hot it was going to get later on in the day.

I literally sprinted off the bus to the quad, where it was slightly cooler, but _way_ less humid. I saw Rodrick, Steve, and Cody. I more than anything wanted to avoid them, but, alas, this morning didn't exactly go my way. At all.

When I got close, they all started giggling. GIGGLING. I don't understand how a bunch of eighteen-year-old boys can giggle.

I stopped right in front of them. "What in the world-"

"You made out with Rodrick!" they yelled while pointing and laughing. Rodrick's face turned red.

"Shut up," he demanded while punching Cody in the arm. Hard.

"Oww, what was that for?"

I covered my face. "Rodrick, can we talk?"

Before he even had a chance to answer, I grabbed his arm and dragged him somewhere private. The guys both went "Ooh!" as we left.

"What?" he questioned, looking around to see if anyone was watching.

"Why in the world did you tell them?" I hissed, my arms crossed.

He shrugged. "I dunno, it just slipped out..."

I sighed, irritated. "I thought we'd be a little low-key. At least at first. Especially since it's still the second week of school, and I'm new here!"

Rodrick looked down at me. "Fine, we can be low-key. Don't worry, I wasn't planning on holding your hand in the hallways anyways."

"Good." I looked around once more to be certain of our privacy. "I also wanted to point out this." I lifted up my already greasy hair to show him the mark of shame.

"Oh, God, did I give you that?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. "No, Brad Pitt did. Of course it was from you. And I can't get any makeup to cover it up. So if anyone asks why that's there, my cat bit me. Okay?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "But you don't have a ca-"

"They don't know that. But as far as everyone else is concerned, that didn't come from you. Or any guy, for that matter."

"Ok," he said, sounding annoyed.

I paused for a second. "Am I nagging you?"

Rodrick looked up, probably deciding whether it would be best to be honest and get yelled at by me, or just to say no.

"Nah," he replied, then twitched his head to the side, leading me back to our "usual spot."

_Wise choice,_ I thought.

* * *

**Shoot, that chapter went longer than I thought it would. I actually had to end it early. But I am so very much looking forward to the next chapter since I know what's going to happen. It'll be great. :3**

**Anyways, if you got to this point, thank you for reading, feel free to subscribe/favorite/review, blah blah blah. **

**-Abby/Venus**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Heyyyyyy guys. Ssssssup. Okay I'm writing like I'm drunk. Whoops.**

**So I started writing this chapter a few weeks back but then life happened. I've been in summer school, work, and now marching band. But thank you guys for sticking with me! I think I need to embrace the fact that I won't be able to update once a week like I used to. Plus my writing has become a little better thought out than before, so it takes more time. Sooooo yeah. Thanks for putting up with me. I still want to keep writing this story!**

**Anywho, nothing much else to say, other than I'm actually writing with intention now! Woo! Hooray for figuring out plot while writing a story... *sheepish smile***

**Onward!**

* * *

Chapter 13

Erica POV

I successfully kept my hickey a secret all through math class, although Rodrick poking me with his pencil. He even tried to move my hair out of the way with it. I was so ready to smack him.

"What? Your cat gave it to you, why do you have to hide it?" he teased as we were walking to Gym.

"Shut up," I gritted through my teeth. "You're getting on my last nerve, you know that?"

Quickly he reached his hand behind me and squeezed my side before I could do anything about it. "Yeah, but you know you love it."

Irritated, I walked past him into the locker room. I could hear his snicker in the background.

I was relieved to be first in the locker room, so I changed as fast as possible, still hoping to conceal the bruise.

"Hey... Erica right?" asked a voice behind me. I spun around as fast as I could, startled.

"Oh, hi. Do I know you?" I questioned.

She smiled. I knew I'd seen her before, but I just couldn't remember where. "I'm Aimee. We have English together. And Gym, obviously."

"Oh, duh. Sorry!" I responded, feeling stupid.

"Did you do the English homework? I was so confused!" she asked.

I blinked. "We had English homework?"

Aimee laughed. "I can let you copy mine. I think we have lunch together too. I'll look for you and sit with you!" Then, she just walked away.

_Hmm... Weird._ I thought. Even though I didn't know her too well, I liked Aimee. She seemed really outgoing and nice. Hopefully we could become friends. Dealing with boys all day at school was getting annoying.

Changing for gym was a success, although that was not the hardest part. The hardest part would be leaving my hair down during the entire gym class.

After changing, I walked on over to the gymnasium, a minute before we needed to be there. Rodrick was already there, so I sat right next to him. Immediately after, he brushed my hair slightly. I smiled over at him, trying not to blush.

"Your mark was showing," he stated, smirking slightly.

Rolling my eyes, I looked the other way and sighed.

"What? I thought you wanted to be all secretive!" he whispered.

I shrugged and looked back over. "Yeah, I do, it just sucks when you're a big tease."

Rodrick glanced at the rest of the gym class to make sure no one was looking before planting a big one on me, right then and there. "Sorry. I'll try not to be a tease."

"Alright class, we're gonna be outside today!" announced our gym teacher as he strode on over. "And we're playing flag football!"

Rodrick and I looked at each other, exchanging nervous glances.

"Fake cramps?" Rodrick suggested.

I shook my head. "I saw Heather and her lackeys try that yesterday. Coach Mudd is tough."

"Then let's ditch!" he exclaimed.

"What?" I exclaimed. "No! I've never ditched a class in my entire life! Plus, if my dad found out, he'd kill me. He's already really pissed about last night!"

"C'mon, we can go make out somewhere!" he replied quietly.

Right after that remark, I stood up and began following the rest of the class outside. I still had the excuse of my imaginary cat.

* * *

After running half a mile in the scorching heat, we finally began flag football. Both luckily and unfortunately, there was no sign of a breeze in the air. I figured I had it in the clear.

Coach Mudd split apart the guys and the girls and then split them apart again to make four teams. The girls teams had the bumpy, gross practice field while the guys got to use the actual football field.

"Mudd is such a sexist," Aimee muttered to me, arms crossed.

I nodded. "I know, right? Geez, I'm going to trip over all these random bumps."

Aimee began pulling her hair back into a ponytail. I watched her in envy.

"Want a hair-tie? Your face is all red!" she offered, holding out an extra hair-tie.

I shook my head. "Nah, I, uh... Have a fat neck. Yeah, I hate putting my hair in a ponytail."

Aimee gave me a weird look. "You wore it up just the other day. And I thought your neck looked fine..." Finally she shrugged and said, "Whatever floats your boat."

We both "played" flag football (meaning we sat off to the side and talked about life and such) for the rest of the class period. Lucky for us, sexist Coach Mudd only cared about watching the guys game, so only the most competitive girls played flag football and let the rest of us do nothing.

_Yay! I made it through the entire class period without getting discovered!_ I thought.

We joined up with the guys and walked inside. The air conditioning was such a relief. I brought my hand to the back of my neck to get all the sticky hairs off of it. Ahh, my neck felt so good with a little breeze-

"OHMYGAWD, ERICA! IS THAT A HICKEY?" screamed Heather, loud enough for the whole class to hear.

Crap.

* * *

**YAYAYAYAYAY I FINISHED IT! :3 I'm glad I was able to get it done! **

**Sorry I ended this chapter on a bit of a cliffhanger, hopefully it won't take me TWO MONTHS to update this time! Again, really sorry about that. I'm a busy person who tends to be a bit scatterbrained when things get crazy. I really like writing while watching the Olympics, so I think I'll try this more often! (At least until the Olympics end, lol.)**

**I thought this chapter would be longer, but whatever!**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please feel free to comment, favorite, subscribe, whatever! **

**-Abby/Venus**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: OH DEAR GOD AUGUST? I THOUGHT IT WAS A LOT SOONER THAN THAT! I'm sooooo sorry. Time really does fly by. I swear I thought the last time I updated was September. I'm really really really sorry. Grrr. I can be an airhead sometimes. **

**Anyways, I started my junior year of high school, and things are a bit crazy. I've been in newspaper as an editor this year, which is not fun if your staff writers don't show up. Then, I participated in NaNoWriMo. I didn't write the full 50,000 words (Although it was the very first time I ever participated. And I'm a high schooler who only has a limited amount of time to write.) but I'm still happy that I made it to 16,000. I have to go back and edit it all though. **

**Finally, things in my personal life have not gone as great as I hoped. Boys are stupid. Anyways, I'm going to be happy for Rodrick and Erica since I'm not. Yay!**

**(Oh, did I mention that I woke up at 7 am during break and can't go back to sleep? Oh, how happy I am.)**

* * *

Chapter 14

Erica POV

I froze. Everything around me was going in slow motion. How? I tried so hard to hide my mark of shame. Why did Heather have to scream it like that? What were we, twelve? Geez, she really put me on the spot there. I stood there with a blank expression, trying to calculate what was going on. Uh... What was my excuse again? I'd never had this many eyes on me at one time... Or at least that I can remember.

Then it came right back to me like a blow to the chest. The cat did it. Right.

I shook my head as fast as possible. "No, it's not, though I can see how it would look like a hickey. It's actually from my cat scratching at me when we were playing." I smiled uneasily, looking at each face of my gym class for some sort of acceptance.

But it seemed that Heather wasn't buying it. "Oh, really? I never would have thought you had a cat. You never have any cat hair on you. What's your cat's name?"

I crossed my arms. "Just because I don't have any cat hair on my clothes doesn't mean I don't have a cat. I actually take the time to get the cat hair off my clothes, unlike you." The crowd oohed in excitement. Had no one challenged Heather before? "My cat's name is Snowflake."

The class cleared out before she could respond because the classroom bell rang and we still needed to change back to our normal clothes. (And being sweaty was not going to make it easier.) She glared at me before walking past, her shoulder colliding with mine. She really had a cold heart. I would have never done that to someone, especially someone I didn't know. But didn't she compliment me not too long ago? Like right before I sang for Löded Diper?

Maybe it was like in Mean Girls when Regina tells that one girl she likes her skirt but then tells Cady it's the ugliest skirt she's ever seen. Maybe that movie was much more accurate than I thought...

I rushed over to the locker room and changed as quickly as possible, not even bothering with covering up my mark this time. Everyone in my class knew about it, what was the point in hiding it? I was able to successfully make it before the school bell rang marking passing period. Luckily my sweat-covered hair dried too.

I somehow avoided Rodrick to our next class. Not because I was mad at him (although I very much was for causing all this commotion in the first place) but because now everyone suspected I had a boyfriend. Although my cat excuse may have convinced several people. My school is not filled with very bright and intelligent people. It is filled with cliques however, so gossip got around pretty quickly. I mentally prayed to whatever gods where willing to listen that Heather wouldn't start any rumors. That would suck majorly, especially since we were not too far into the school year.

All I had to do today was bear through it all.

* * *

Greg POV

So the thing going around school today was the most interesting rumor I'd ever heard. And obviously not true. Everyone was telling me that my brother gave Erica a hickey. I have to admit, I laughed at first. My brother doesn't get very many girls. And Erica? She's too square to date my brother, let alone get a hickey from him. Funniest rumor I've ever heard.

Rowley cried a little when he heard it, though. He believes everything he hears, which probably isn't a great way to go about high school, so he totally thought Erica was taken and he'd lost his chance with her. I had to find him in the bathroom and console him, telling him he still had his chance and most of the word traveling around in our school was false. That seemed to calm him down a little bit. I felt really awkward doing it, though.

By the time we got to lunch, though, I got so tired of hearing it. Everyone had to alert me because my brother was involved. Fantastic. So I decided to vent about it to who other than the people the rumor was about. Maybe we could all have a laugh about its ridiculousness.

"Wazzup Tubby?" Rodrick greeted while sitting himself down across from me.

"Is it true?!" Rowley questioned suddenly. I could see the tears forming in his eyes once again. This guy just really can't get over it.

"Is what true?" Rodrick responded quickly, looking genuinely concerned. Did he not hear the rumor?

I shook my head at Rodrick, hoping he would leave it alone for two seconds before Rowley broke out full-on crying. "Now, remember, Rowley, it was just a rumor. That means it was not necessarily true. Most of them aren't. You still have your chance. Don't worry."

He sniffed and wiped his eyes. "Thanks, Greg."

Erica finally sat down next to Rodrick. "Is he crying?" she asked me.

I nodded, feeling embarrassed. I've never seen a fourteen-year-old dude of his height and abundance of facial hair cry in public. That's pretty much unheard of. "He thinks everything he hears is true."

She began eating her salad. "What did he hear?"

My eyebrows furrowed. "You two really don't know anything?" They shook their heads. "Really?"

Rodrick glared at me. "We really don't. Now tell us before I tell the whole school your name is Bubby."

I rolled my eyes. "The whole school thinks you gave Erica a hickey."

Rodrick snickered while Erica's face turned bright red. They couldn't have had more opposite reactions. "She really did it!" he replied, grinning at Erica. She had her hands over her eyes in shame, shaking her head at Rodrick.

"Shut up," she mumbled, barely audible to us on the other side of the table.

Rodrick continued to laugh. "That's because she... her cat... Snowball-"

"Snowflake," she interrupted.

"Yeah. He-"

"She."

"She bit or scratched her on the neck making it look like one of those things."

Erica buried her head in arms, avoiding looking at anyone. I could see the mark in question easily from this point of view.

"I don't think that came from a cat," I thought out loud. "Was that true?"

They didn't say anything.

"Are you serious?!" I exclaimed. "There's no way. I don't believe you."

Rodrick threw his banana peel at me. "Shut up, Bubby. You're shouting."

I could not believe my ears. "Rodrick never gets girls."

"Hey," he started, definitely feeling offended. "I do too get girls. I've gotten more than you have."

I shrugged. "At least I'm not the one giving other girls hi-"

Erica's head popped up from her arms. "If you say another word about it, I'm going to kill you. The more you talk about it, the more people think it's true. So let's just talk about something different."

The rest of lunch was pretty much silent. Rowley tried to hold back tears the entire time, avoiding looking at any of us. Erica refused to talk to anyone. She only said hi to some girl who let her copy her homework. Rodrick had a smirk on his face the entire time and would try to irritate Erica from time to time. I watched, still not believing anything. They were the last two on earth who I'd put together. There was absolutely no way.

* * *

**Alright guys, I'm gonna call it a chapter. This took me several hours to write, but it at least kept me busy while I was supposed to be sleeping. **

**I went back and reread the entire story and realized that I wrote chapter 11 a year ago. That's kind of sad. I'm really sorry. I'm such an airhead. I've been playing lots of Sims instead of writing. (Which, by the way, barely works on my Mac anymore. EA, you suck.) **

**Have an awesome New Years and happy 2013! I hope to see you all soon! Thanks for all of the favorites and follows and reviews, it really means a lot to me! You guys are the reason why I haven't abandoned this story! (:**

**-Venus/Abby**


End file.
